KING UBU

About the show

Alfred Jarry's König Ubu depicts a ruler who seizes power through murder, then governs with arbitrary cruelty, imposing absurd taxes and executing nobles indiscriminately. After military defeat by Russia, the protagonist flees to France, where he embraces a paradoxical philosophy equating slavery with freedom. Jarry's creation functions as a grotesque satire of autocratic abuse, ideological extremism, and the fundamental absurdities of political systems. The work fundamentally challenged theatrical convention, establishing itself as a modernist landmark that expanded dramatic possibility beyond traditional forms.